Reviews

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RCA Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna - White

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Left 4 Dead: Xbox 360

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a little rushed, and kind of rudimentary.
The only thing I didn't really like are the lack of variety in the weapons, and the graphics. Neither one makes or breaks the game though in my opinion.
So to sum it up, this game is built for multiplayer over LIVE. If you don't have Xbox LIVE, get LIVE, rent it first, or just avoid it. If you do have LIVE, and you enjoy FPS then this is a must own for you.

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Zune Zune MP3 Player with 120GB Hard Drive - Black

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with the crappy headphones it came with.

The best feature by far is the Zune Pass. I'm currently using the 14 day free trial and I already know that I definitely want to keep up the subscription. So far, I've downloaded nearly 100 songs, quickly and easily from both my computer and wirelessly from my Zune. I'm pleasantly surprised that the Marketplace has so much of what I want, especially since I've heard criticism that it's "not as good as iTunes". I've found obscure albums and songs and been able to download everything I want with the Zune Pass. Plus, you can permanently keep 10 each month (the rest you can keep as long as the subscription is valid). Personally, I think this feature alone blows iPod out of the water.

To me, the bottom line appears to be this: If you really love music, love exploring new artists and hearing entire albums for a reasonable price, the Zune is definitely the player for you. If you're bothered about having a really hip player with lots of available accessories, go with an ipod.

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Sony KDL-52XBR6 52" BRAVIA XBR® LCD Flat Panel HDTV

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up the tv. They made sure the remote and the set worked, and they were off after no more than 15-20 minutes from start to finish.

Picture Quality: More than for any other reason, this is why I bought this tv. For me, the decision process started and ended with picture quality, everything else a set had to offer was just extras, nice to have or something to ignore. On the XBR6, HD is stunning. SD is excellent. This is equally true for sports, movies, news, evening soaps. The XBR6 delivers a vibrant picture whether you are sitting straight in front of it or off to one side or the other. The factory settings are very close to the mark, if not on it. If you decide to tweek the picture for personal preferences or to accommodate room lighting, the manual and online menus are easy to follow and offer concise explanations.

No reflective glare: Concern about glare and reflection was a critical decision point for me because the set was going into a room with multiple windows and skylights Daytime with the Sony Wega's reflective crt screen had been horrible. Now, after watching the XBR6 on a few sunny days in a row, glare and reflections are subdued/tamed except on very dark scenes. On colorful scenes, the glare and reflections just aren't noticeable. I am very pleased. My expectations have been more than exceeded. The Samsungs I strongly considered as well as a couple of plasma sets got nixed because of my concerns about reflection and glare. A small negative for me is the reflective quality of the plastic frame around the set.

Sound System: Sound quality from the tv was never a decision factor for me just as it wasn't 10 years ago. A 10 year old Bose Lifestyle 1-2 system was easily connected, and its Dolby 5.1 output sounds better than ever.

Quality and reliability: Sony is number one in service and reliability. The rest are still learning. You can look it up. I did.

Misc. : 1. We have a small net monthly savings by going with direct tv for the local channels, dvr and hd. This amount does not include the foregone costs for tivo since we had paid a one time fee for the life of the unit to avoid month to month subscription fees to it. This amount does include the rip-off monthly fee increase for high speed internet access from the cable company because we discontinued cable service. After eight years with tivo, I thought I'd miss it more than I have, but the features on the direct tv dvr are very similar.
2. There is a couple of seconds delay when switching from one channel to the next. I assume it is due to the line from the satellite that is being multiplexed as a dual line. It is more than acceptable to me, but the pause that refreshes is noticeable.
3. The Tv Guide feature that Sony is promoting is useless for satellite subscribers because it is incompatible (unsupportable?) with them and also redundant, just as it is with cable.
4. You don't need to pay a premium for hdmi cables. See the discussion on avsforums about them as well as their discussions about lcd televisions. The discussions can be over the top and sometimes make a fringe issue sound like it is the center of the universe. These folks care about their viewing experiences. They also seem to know something. They are more reasonable than a person who faults a set sold in the US for not supporting a frame rate used overseas.
5. When doing diligence, I used cnet's reviews, myproductadvisor (to better understand my own requirements and what features are out there, although it seems to have a Samsung bias), other expert reviews, end user reviews (like this one and the others here), the manufacturer websites, and visits to several stores to see with my own eyes.
6. I am 100% satisfied, a very happy camper. I had high expectations from order placement to the day to day set usage, and those high expectations have been met. Sony, Amazon, direct tv and Bose are a great combination, and they've clicked at every level for me. I think they are the best at what they do.

Thanks for listening. I had fun. I hope this helped.

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D-Link Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with 4-Port Switch

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annoying.)

4. DO NOT use the set up "Wizard" it just doesn't freakin' work correctly. Always use the MANUAL settings. For example, we use Roadrunner from TWC cable. So for us, we use DHCP to connect. CHANGE AS FEW SETTINGS AS POSSIBLE.

5. Use WPA2, Personal encryption. Use the LOOONNNG 63 character password provided on both the router and any computers that will be connected over a wireless connection. You only have to enter it once. Save a print out of it somewhere you won't lose it. BUT don't worry, once you connect a computer to this router via a WIRED connection, you can EASILY reset the password.

Having gotten this thing set up, it works like a charm. I've had it for a month and the performance is excellent. I had to buy it in order to connect a PC laptop which is on the other side of the house, through several walls. He gets excellent signal strength.

The wired Gigabit Ethernet connectivity is OUTSTANDING, just remember to use Cat SIX cable to maintain Gigabit speed. My Mac Pro is our only device that is Gigabit capable, but that will change over time.

Finally, if this has to be in a bedroom or other living area, put black electrical tape over the STUPID blinking lights which are OBSCENELY bright (and actually, not good for anything, except when something isn't working. Even then, their diagnostic value is minimal.)

If you are a true nerd, you simply cannot purchase a SOHO router any faster than this one.

(Note: we don't use VOIP and don't do online file sharing so we haven't used the settings that prioritize traffic.)

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NIS 2009 CD 1U 3PC MM

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annoying.)



4. DO NOT use the set up "Wizard" it just doesn't freakin' work correctly. Always use the MANUAL settings. For example, we use Roadrunner from TWC cable. So for us, we use DHCP to connect. CHANGE AS FEW SETTINGS AS POSSIBLE.



5. Use WPA2, Personal encryption. Use the LOOONNNG 63 character password provided on both the router and any computers that will be connected over a wireless connection. You only have to enter it once. Save a print out of it somewhere you won't lose it. BUT don't worry, once you connect a computer to this router via a WIRED connection, you can EASILY reset the password.



Having gotten this thing set up, it works like a charm. I've had it for a month and the performance is excellent. I had to buy it in order to connect a PC laptop which is on the other side of the house, through several walls. He gets excellent signal strength.



The wired Gigabit Ethernet connectivity is OUTSTANDING, just remember to use Cat SIX cable to maintain Gigabit speed. My Mac Pro is our only device that is Gigabit capable, but that will change over time.



Finally, if this has to be in a bedroom or other living area, put black electrical tape over the STUPID blinking lights which are OBSCENELY bright (and actually, not good for anything, except when something isn't working. Even then, their diagnostic value is minimal.)



If you are a true nerd, you simply cannot purchase a SOHO router any faster than this one.



(Note: we don't use VOIP and don't do online file sharing so we haven't used the settings that prioritize traffic.)

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Onkyo TX-SR606B 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver - Black

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The labels on the back of the Onkyo are easy to understand and seem logically placed. There are very few options that need to be done with the remote, but those that needed adjusting were easily set.

Upon powering the unit for the first time, it's necessary to balance the speakers. I followed the recommended automated process, using the microphone that's included with the receiver. Set-up was a breeze. Within 15 minutes, the system was perfectly balanced (for my taste). The unit automatically adjusted the treble/bass/mid tones based on the speakers that are connected, and adjusted the gain of each set of speakers based on their placement in the room and the room's acoustics. Although there are options for refining all balance and tone settings, I didn't feel the need to do anything beyond the automatic set-up.

For my first experience, I decided to watch and listen to the Blu-Ray version of The Dark Knight. While this disk is visually stunning, the sound produced though this receiver is out-of-this-world! My home video watching/listening experience was forever changed. The highs, the lows, the mid-range sounds blew me away! Ironman was next, followed by the new Blu-Ray version of Sweeny Todd. The sound from this receiver is better than most theaters, the HD picture (passed through the receiver) is perfect, and the popcorn is a lot cheaper. One of these disks is Digital Dolby, and the other two are Dolby TrueHD. All are equally stunning to hear!

Next, I turned on the DirecTV player. The Digital Dolby sound played perfectly, and the video pass-through worked as it should. I experienced no sync problems between sound and video. The resolution of DirecTV, at this point, is only 1080i, so the picture is not as sharp and crisp as the Blu-ray player's 1080p resolution, but the sound is excellent. DirecTV promises 1080p resolution shortly.

Finally, I switched the Onkyo to the Apple Airport input (I used the CD inputs), logged on to AOL Radio with my iMac and broadcast music wirelessly to the Airport using Airfoil. WOW! Even the sound from the Airport is better than I imagined possible. All 5.1 speakers respond, providing some incredible music. Rock on Garth!

Through the Onkyo remote control, I set the receiver's version of Panasonic's VIERA HDMI component control to ON, which allows me to use the Panasonic remote to turn on/off the TV or Blu-Ray player and the Onkyo automatically turns on/off and sets itself to the correct input. Volume on the receiver is also controlled through the Panasonic remote. I almost never use the Onkyo remote since all components can be controlled through the Panasonic remote. I keep the Onkyo remote around because the receiver does not automatically switch to the CD input (RCA jacks) when I use the Airport so I have to set that input and adjust the volume using the Onkyo remote.

The Onkyo TX-SR606 produces the finest sound I've ever heard in a home unit. It is capable of playing all of the current sound formats, is easy to set up and easy to control, and with 4 HDMI inputs, there's space for future expansion.

Now, I think I'll go make a martini and watch AND LISTEN TO another movie!

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Sony STR-DG920 7.1-Channel Home Theater A/V Receiver

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4 stars instead of 5 because the receiver is IR only ... unless you don't mind constantly aiming when you have to adjust volume. The remote also feels very cheap.


P.S. It runs kinda hot, so a heads-up for you guys using cabinets with glass doors. My old Sony receiver did the same and it never worried me, even behind glass doors.

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Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000 - Mouse - optical - 4 button(s) - wireless - USB - USB wireless receiver - black matte white

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mouses. You can get a list of options by right-clicking, depending on what you're doing (word processing, web browsing, etc.). The wheel in the center scrolls, albeit not as smoothly as it should, and, if you depress the scroll button, you get Dashboard on your screen.

Customers with large hands might find this mouse suitable only for occasional use since it is designed for portability.

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Speck Products SeeThru Digital Player Case-Touch 2G See-Thru Case BLK

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mouses. You can get a list of options by right-clicking, depending on what you're doing (word processing, web browsing, etc.). The wheel in the center scrolls, albeit not as smoothly as it should, and, if you depress the scroll button, you get Dashboard on your screen.



Customers with large hands might find this mouse suitable only for occasional use since it is designed for portability.

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Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Mini Laptop (Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz & 160GB Hard Drive) - Onyx Black

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is a very quiet fan. This model is cool running and when the fan comes on it is very quiet, so much so I hardly hear it. Perhaps this is an upgrade on my model.

I spent time with the Asus, Wind and other products and I am very pleased to say that this is the best of the netbook breed. If you are looking for something that will give you connectivity, handle productive software and package it all in a stylish case, the Acer Aspire One is the best in its class in my opinion.

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21-Megapixel Digital SLR - Body Only

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camera will auto cancel live-view if it senses an over temperature condition.)

The huge 21 mega-pixel RAW images are excellent. The camera uses an updated variant on Canon's .CR2 RAW format so if you use an older version of Adobe's Lightroom or Photoshop for image processing, you'll need the latest Lightroom 2.2 or Photoshop CS4 to get the proper RAW converter. I've personally never liked the included software for RAW image processing, but many people are happy with it.

The auto-exposure system seems very accurate... more accurate than my 1DS Mk2.

I never experienced any "black dot" phenomenon. But I've only shot RAW images at less than 1200 ASA. The "black dot" sample images that I've seen on the internet look like simple, in-camera, over-enhancement of highlights. Besides, unless you're shooting sports at night or are part of a CSI team, who shoots at 3200+ ASA anyway? If you're doing a night shot of a city use a tripod, a longer exposure, and a lower ASA. This will yield rich, clean blacks and much higher detail in highlights. Also, although JPEG's are much smaller, every professional photographer that I know shoots only RAW images.

I ordered the camera with the optional BG-E6 battery grip. This grip makes the camera taller and easier to hold. It allows simultaneous use of 2 Canon lithium batteries or 6- AA alkaline or rechargeables. It's a very valuable accessory to consider.

Now the bad...

I primarily purchased the camera for its ability to shoot great looking 1080P HD video for commercial TV projects. I thought it would be a great source for "B-Roll" cutaways and inserts.

The biggest single problem in the video mode is that you have no control over iris, ISO setting, or shutter speed. There's an exposure lock button that will lock the exposure variables to whatever the LCD displays at the time you press the button. There are no on-screen indicators that show the settings that the camera has chosen for you. The only control you have is the color temperature setting. Basically, you pan the camera around in the scene and let the brightness float up and down. When you see what you think is a good exposure on the rear LCD screen, you press the lock button. Since the exposure lock resets after each scene or take, chances are you won't have consistent exposures over multiple takes of a particular scene.

Working with the auto exposure system can sometimes be difficult. I was shooting with my 85mm F1.2 lens. By looking at the iris, it appeared the camera had decided to only open the lens to about an F2.8 and use a much higher ISO setting than necessary to achieve proper exposure. By pointing the camera to some very dark shadows, the iris fully opened. I then panned back to my original scene which appeared to be much cleaner and free of noise. You really need to be able to manually set the ISO & F-stop when shooting video.

I adjusted the camera's custom settings to lower the detail enhancement and contrast. These controls effect the quality of jpeg stills but seem to have no effect on a video recording.

The camera only records at 30.00fps, not 29.97fps. This tiny .03fps difference means that you have to alter each file's header, using a program such as Apple Cinema Tools, before you can edit 5D footage into a normal, broadcast 1080P/1080i, 29.97fps timeline. Failure to do this header alteration requires setting up a 30.00fps timeline or rendering every 5D scene on your 29.97fps timeline which yields periodic skipped frames.

There is no 24P (23.98) setting. As far as I'm concerned, there is no logical reason that Canon chose 30.00fps instead of 29.97fps. No broadcast TV or film standard operates at 30.00fps. Maybe Canon will correct this with a future firmware update. Please note that if you're only shooting high quality videos for web release, the 30.00fps speed won't present a problem.

To simulate the film-like cadence of a movie camera's 180 degree shutter at 30.00fps, the 5D Mk2's shutter should be set to 1/60 of a second exposure time. There is no way to tell what shutter setting the camera is using during a scene. My gut feeling from looking at camera video is that the 5D Mk2 often uses 1/30 of a second.

The camera's LCD screen is blanked whenever an HDMI monitor is plugged in. If you're doing a commercial shoot with clients, this means that either the cameraman or the clients can see what's being shot, but not both at the same time... You could add an external HDMI active splitter, but this would also require adding and using an external monitor at the camera. If you only plan to shoot by yourself, this shouldn't present a problem.

To do manual follow-focusing using the rear LCD screen, consider purchasing Hoodman's 3" LCD viewer. It's available from B&H and other retailers and it works very well. Of course, you'll have to figure a custom way to attach it to the back of the 5D Mk2 using rubber bands or Velcro.

The 5D Mk2 records what I would call "memo quality" audio with it's internal, mono microphone. You really notice the AGC raising and lowering the recording volume. If someone claps their hands, coughs, or makes a loud sound, the audio level and background sound dives down, then very noticeably fades back up. There is no headphone output or on-screen audio display so there's no way to confirm the level of your audio. If you plug an external mic into the camera, there is no indication to confirm even the presence of an audio signal. The only thing you can do is record a scene, then playback and carefully listen to the recorded file. If you plan to use this camera on a professional sync-sound project, you'd really have to consider double system sound recording. Recoding the audio on a separate recorder adds a major level of increased hassle but it's the only way to insure excellent audio. The audio from the camera's recording can be used as a post-production sync reference.

Another audio question is why Canon chose to record audio at a sample rate of 44.1kz instead of the industry standard 48kz. Apple's Final Cut Pro can handle almost any sample rate but other NLE's can't. Once again, if you're only shooting video for web release, the CD sample rate of 44.1kz shouldn't present a problem.

In certain low light or low contrast scenes, the H.264 encoding block artifacts are noticeable. In my opinion, the 5D Mk2 artifacts are more noticeable than the H.264 encoding used in Canon's own HF10, 1080 video camera even though the 5D's recorded bit rate is higher.

The camera's signal-to-noise ratio is very good and very clean. It's a more noise-free video picture than my $80,000 Sony F900R HDCam... except for the color red. Red objects are noisy. Most colors in a scene seem noise free, except red. This is especially true with low brightness red objects such as those in shadow areas.

The 5D Mk2 exhibits no "rolling shutter" characteristics that are associated with Nikon's D90.

The 5D Mk2 has the characteristic of clipping to "flat-line" black very low-light or shadow details in an image. This yields a "gutsy" rich, excellent, "film-like" quality for many scenes, but you can't do any post-production recovery of lost low-light details. The camera does a pretty good job of rolling scene highlights off to a hard clip at 100 units of video.

Possibly, some of the problems I've detailed here are related to the specific 5D Mk2 that I purchased (serial#0320105XXX) but I don't think this is the case. Hopefully, Canon will issue a firmware update to address the camera's video problems. New firmware could possibly add manual control to the video capture functions and slightly lower the frame rate to the standard 29.97fps.

All cameras at any price level have positives and negatives. I've never found or used the "perfect" camera. The Canon 5d Mk2 is an excellent still camera and in my opinion, "a not quite ready for prime time" HDTV video camera. Possibly the camera was rushed to market to compete (or cancel out) the much hyped video features of Nikon's "rolling shutter" D90. It is an excellent glimpse into the future of "hybrid" still & video DSLR cameras.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Blue Digital Camera-9.1-Megapixel Compact Digital

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the end, I'm going to return the TZ5 and get an SD880 IS. The Canon is smaller, lighter, and produces better looking pictures; too bad it can't also have that fantastic 10x Leica zoom lens.

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Monster Turbine High Performance In-Ear Speakers

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the end, I'm going to return the TZ5 and get an SD880 IS. The Canon is smaller, lighter, and produces better looking pictures; too bad it can't also have that fantastic 10x Leica zoom lens.

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Nintendo DS Lite Littlest Pet Shop Starter Kit - Polar Bear

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you're plying a game the bottom half of the cover just hangs there. You also can't keep the cover on when you have to charge it, because they didn't cut any holes for any plug to go through. So for my sister, it's better as a cover when she isn't using it, and it's not charging. Besides the game case, she doesn't use the stylus or cover that often. It's still really cute, but since i'm sure she'll own more than 6 games, and want a cover that isn't so much work we'll have to upgrade in the future.

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Philips DVP5140 DVD Player Component

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you're plying a game the bottom half of the cover just hangs there. You also can't keep the cover on when you have to charge it, because they didn't cut any holes for any plug to go through. So for my sister, it's better as a cover when she isn't using it, and it's not charging. Besides the game case, she doesn't use the stylus or cover that often. It's still really cute, but since i'm sure she'll own more than 6 games, and want a cover that isn't so much work we'll have to upgrade in the future.

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Pocket Small Wonder Camcorder

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you're plying a game the bottom half of the cover just hangs there. You also can't keep the cover on when you have to charge it, because they didn't cut any holes for any plug to go through. So for my sister, it's better as a cover when she isn't using it, and it's not charging. Besides the game case, she doesn't use the stylus or cover that often. It's still really cute, but since i'm sure she'll own more than 6 games, and want a cover that isn't so much work we'll have to upgrade in the future.

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Nikon D90 12-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-105mm DX VR Lens

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While the D90 with an 18-105mm lens is relatively large and heavy, it fits nicely in the hands and feels like a real instrument. The 18-105 lens hits the sweet spot for focal lengths, going from wide angle to moderate telephoto and while I had thought that I might need to get a 55-200mm lens I'm not sure I will need it unless a very special need for a longer lens comes along. The viewfinder is excellent and I am glad to be back to using one but the high resolution LCD backpanel is a joy to behold and wonderful for reviewing shots and in live mode for videos. I have had the camera for a month and have gone picture-crazy with it including our Christmas vacation. Pictures are uniformly sharp and beautifully exposed with the usual foibles in tricky or low light situations that are difficult for any camera. Performance with the built-in flash and with an external SB-600 is as close to flawless as one could expect and better than any other camera I have used. Finally, the ease of switching over and capturing great video is outstanding. The 30 frames per second capture rate produces smooth, well exposed video. I have seen criticism that the automatic focus does not work in video mode which is true. You focus initially and start the video and the focus stays there but you can use the zoom. I have not found the focus issue to be a big problem because the videos I take do not typically go from distant to close focus but it is an option to use the manual focus ring which does work in video mode. All in all, what can I say? Photography is fun again.

If I had a gripe, it would be that some cameras like the Canon open a new folder in memory for pictures taken on different days and the Nikon does not. This is very handy to organize pictures if the camera is used over a period of days before downloading the shots to a computer. One other niggle is that the camera does not shut down automatically if it is not used for a period of time. Battery life is qood, by the way, but not so good if you forget to turn it off. Otherwise, I love the camera and while it is not cheap, it is actually a good buy for the features. In default mode this camera takes pictures that average 3.1 MB in size so lots of hard disk space and a capable computer are recommended.

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Block Financial Taxcut 2008 Premium Federal + State + Efile

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While the D90 with an 18-105mm lens is relatively large and heavy, it fits nicely in the hands and feels like a real instrument. The 18-105 lens hits the sweet spot for focal lengths, going from wide angle to moderate telephoto and while I had thought that I might need to get a 55-200mm lens I'm not sure I will need it unless a very special need for a longer lens comes along. The viewfinder is excellent and I am glad to be back to using one but the high resolution LCD backpanel is a joy to behold and wonderful for reviewing shots and in live mode for videos. I have had the camera for a month and have gone picture-crazy with it including our Christmas vacation. Pictures are uniformly sharp and beautifully exposed with the usual foibles in tricky or low light situations that are difficult for any camera. Performance with the built-in flash and with an external SB-600 is as close to flawless as one could expect and better than any other camera I have used. Finally, the ease of switching over and capturing great video is outstanding. The 30 frames per second capture rate produces smooth, well exposed video. I have seen criticism that the automatic focus does not work in video mode which is true. You focus initially and start the video and the focus stays there but you can use the zoom. I have not found the focus issue to be a big problem because the videos I take do not typically go from distant to close focus but it is an option to use the manual focus ring which does work in video mode. All in all, what can I say? Photography is fun again.



If I had a gripe, it would be that some cameras like the Canon open a new folder in memory for pictures taken on different days and the Nikon does not. This is very handy to organize pictures if the camera is used over a period of days before downloading the shots to a computer. One other niggle is that the camera does not shut down automatically if it is not used for a period of time. Battery life is qood, by the way, but not so good if you forget to turn it off. Otherwise, I love the camera and while it is not cheap, it is actually a good buy for the features. In default mode this camera takes pictures that average 3.1 MB in size so lots of hard disk space and a capable computer are recommended.

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HP Photosmart Pro Network-Ready Photo Printer

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While the D90 with an 18-105mm lens is relatively large and heavy, it fits nicely in the hands and feels like a real instrument. The 18-105 lens hits the sweet spot for focal lengths, going from wide angle to moderate telephoto and while I had thought that I might need to get a 55-200mm lens I'm not sure I will need it unless a very special need for a longer lens comes along. The viewfinder is excellent and I am glad to be back to using one but the high resolution LCD backpanel is a joy to behold and wonderful for reviewing shots and in live mode for videos. I have had the camera for a month and have gone picture-crazy with it including our Christmas vacation. Pictures are uniformly sharp and beautifully exposed with the usual foibles in tricky or low light situations that are difficult for any camera. Performance with the built-in flash and with an external SB-600 is as close to flawless as one could expect and better than any other camera I have used. Finally, the ease of switching over and capturing great video is outstanding. The 30 frames per second capture rate produces smooth, well exposed video. I have seen criticism that the automatic focus does not work in video mode which is true. You focus initially and start the video and the focus stays there but you can use the zoom. I have not found the focus issue to be a big problem because the videos I take do not typically go from distant to close focus but it is an option to use the manual focus ring which does work in video mode. All in all, what can I say? Photography is fun again.





If I had a gripe, it would be that some cameras like the Canon open a new folder in memory for pictures taken on different days and the Nikon does not. This is very handy to organize pictures if the camera is used over a period of days before downloading the shots to a computer. One other niggle is that the camera does not shut down automatically if it is not used for a period of time. Battery life is qood, by the way, but not so good if you forget to turn it off. Otherwise, I love the camera and while it is not cheap, it is actually a good buy for the features. In default mode this camera takes pictures that average 3.1 MB in size so lots of hard disk space and a capable computer are recommended.